How Many LSAT Questions Should I Do Daily?The other night at the Spivey-PowerScore Napa Meetup, I was talking with some students about LSAT prep. The question came up about how many full LSATs or LSAT sections to do daily. Was one test a day too much? One section a day just right? Or was there some other perfect number of questions to do daily that produced optimal results? Everyone Is DifferentThe very first response to that question is … [Read more...]
Overwhelmed By LSAT Prep? Break It Down
Preparing For The LSAT Can Be OverwhelmingI've worked with LSAT students for many years, and one thing never changes: the process of preparing for this test is long and grueling. It's a challenging exam, and there are so many things to learn and practice that students often become frustrated with the process. Far from being an abnormal feeling, this is par for the course with the LSAT. What Can You Do About It? While it might seem you just … [Read more...]
When Will Logic Games Be Removed From The LSAT?
What Are Logic Games?Logic Games (also known as LG) is one of the three scored sections on the LSAT. Each LG section contains four games (which are logic puzzles), and each game contains 5 to 8 questions. This section is also known more formally as Analytical Reasoning (AR). How Long Have Logic Games Been On The LSAT?This section type first appeared on the LSAT in June 1982, so Logic Games have been on the LSAT for over 40 years. I've … [Read more...]
The PowerScore 2023 LSAT Bibles: What Has Changed?
Do the Books Change Every Year? Yes!Each year I make revisions and updates to the LSAT Bibles, and there are several different reasons for that: First, new LSATs are released each year. I make changes to some of the content to account for new directions taken by the test makers. This includes adding new sections and changing others. Second, I regularly talk with LSAT students and also teach various sessions throughout the year. The feedback … [Read more...]
The June 2022 LSAT Experimental Section—What Happened?
On Saturday, many June 2022 LSAT takers ran into a curious notification at the beginning of section 4, which stated that, “This section will be unscored.” Then, as the section progressed, they were intermittently presented with survey questions that asked about prior test questions, such as if they used scratch paper, and how useful that scratch paper was to them in solving the problem. Other test takers did not see this notification at the start … [Read more...]
2023 US News Law School Rankings Released!
The 2023 US News Law School Rankings are out! We’ll break down some of the big news from the new rankings in a moment. But first, here’s our standard disclaimer about rankings. Please keep in mind that these rankings are just numbers put through an arbitrary formula that was created by a magazine that makes millions of dollars off of them, so use them at your own risk!The list below is numbered according to the new rankings, and the order … [Read more...]
LSAT March Madness
Recapping a Wild Week This past week featured two of my favorite events: the start of the NCAA basketball tournament and St. Patrick's Day. If you are a sports fan and Irish (I'm both), it's about as good as it gets! And the tournament this past weekend proved to be as exciting as expected: in the first round, there were 10 upsets (defined as a lower-seeded team winning versus a higher-seeded team), which isn't far off from the historical record … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Test Mentality Resource List
The LSAT is daunting, and can tax your brain as you get more and more wrapped up in studying. During your final stretch to your test, you should make sure you are as mentally prepared as possible for the pressures of test day. To help you reach a state of pure mental power and balance, I've compiled a list of some of my favorite LSAT confidence resources. Set aside some time before the test to think about how you will approach the LSAT when it … [Read more...]
You Can’t Argue with the LSAT
Over on the PowerScore LSAT Discussion Forum I've been talking to several students (both publicly and privately) about their LSAT performance. These are students who are either looking for big score increases (20+ points), or that are a little bit stuck with their scores, and who are looking to get back on the score increase train. In talking to these students, one of the age-old problems for LSAT takers keeps coming up. What's that problem? That … [Read more...]
Should You Avoid Older LSATs?
Students often ask if they should restrict their studying to LSAT's that are more recently released. The thinking behind this is that older tests are now obsolete because the test has evolved over time. It's a good question, because if the test format changes, doesn't that make those older tests different and perhaps unusable? Are Older LSATs Obsolete? How different are the newer tests from the older tests? And, are they different enough that … [Read more...]
The Genesis of an LSAT Question, Part II
Continuing on with our discussion from Part I, let’s take the text from the article and turn it into a proto-LSAT Logical Reasoning stimulus: “In the country of Downlandia, over 100,000 people currently live in towns with populations of fewer than 100 residents. This is an increase of over 20,000 people from a decade ago.” With this very rough “stimulus” in hand (which at this point is just a fact set), we can examine the three question types … [Read more...]
The Genesis of an LSAT Question, Part I
The other day I was reading an article about a town in the US with just two residents. In the middle of the article, the following text caught my attention: “The 2010 Census found 13 hamlets with one or two residents, including Lotsee, Okla., Gross, Neb., and Bonanza, Utah. About 119,000 people live in towns with fewer than 100 residents, up from 79,000 a decade earlier. Mr. Cantrell suspects the increase is due largely to towns shrinking below … [Read more...]
Bruce Lee: Enter the LSAT
Most people are familiar with Bruce Lee. He was a martial arts master who became an actor, and when he died young at 32, he was already a superstar and cultural icon. But while most people know him for his martial arts movies, few know that he was also a philosopher and avid student of the mind. After his death, thousands of books were found in his house, with over 1500 marked up with detailed notes and comments. Lee wasn't just a heavy reader, … [Read more...]
Justify and Assumption Questions: Conceptual Similarities and Differences
Many students confuse Justify and Assumption questions. Of course, this is not news to those whose job is to confuse you (hint: they work in Newtown, PA). Consequently, you will often encounter Assumption decoys in Justify questions and vice versa. The trick is to know what you are looking for. And what you are not. Some basic concepts: In Justify questions, you need to identify a statement that is sufficient to prove the conclusion. In other … [Read more...]